I have mixed thoughts about Saturday night. I am immensely proud of Phil Vickery and his team, proud of Brian Ashton and all his coaching staff. Backs to the wall, their true sprit and experience came out. But to see South Africa lift our cup with the knowledge of how poor the past four years had been left me sad and in many ways angry.

I read that the RFU is doing a review of the World Cup but myself and my senior coaching staff - Andy Robinson, Phil Larder, Dave Reddin, Sherylle Calder and Dave Alred – did a similar review four years ago. We might as well have been whistling in the wind. I left because of the RFU’s refusal to listen, let alone act, and the rest of those guys, all world-class in their respective areas, were dismissed over the four-year period.

I can see now why nobody at the RFU could understand what we were saying. We had just won the World Cup, we were the No 1 team. Why change? I just hope that whatever the outcome of this review, action is taken to ensure that we never arrive at another tournament as such outsiders. There are only so many times you can upset the odds.

The two key areas that need clear action are the appointment of the head coach and ensuring that the agreement between the RFU and the professional clubs actually works and delivers the world’s best team.

Expert View

South Africa looked like a team who had prepared for four years, England like a team who had prepared for four weeks

Simon Barnes

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BACKGROUND

• It’s widely known that I’m teetotal. I broke the habit on this occasion

• England take heart from brave new pretenders

• How England rated

• Miracle men suffer dose of reality

BACKGROUND

• England's future rosy, but is Ashton included?

• Toulon wait for Springboks master

• IRB aims to secure future not just for kicks

• South Africans urged to grasp chance for change

BACKGROUND

• Springboks dominate awards

• Boks on top in brutal battle

• Springbok kickers destroy England

• Ashton merits credit for glorious run

BACKGROUND

• It's over: dream dies as Boks win Rugby World cup

• Boks kill the unlikely dream

• Brave England go down with pride

• Video ref made 'brilliant decision’

BACKGROUND

• So who ate all the croissants?

• Au revoir France

• Victory whoops of the rainbow warriors

• Mrs Mills solves all your rugby problems

BACKGROUND

• English roses fall for Saint Jonny

• Stodgy England confine Bryan Habana

• Still joking about the All Blacks and Wallabies

• Wheels come off the chariot

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With regards to the head coach’s role, there is, understandably, a strong degree of public support for Ashton. I have worked with Brian and would always want him on my team. But we need to look at exactly how the remarkable turnaround from the 36-0 defeat by South Africa came about.

It was fantastic to see fortunes reversed but it was certainly not a recipe for success. No team can expect to recover from that sort of defeat and win the tournament, so we need to ask how the world champions came to be in that position. Who made all the key selections, who dictated the tactical approach?

Brian has many attributes but, in these circumstances, the RFU is correct to take its time and examine away from the present euphoria if he is the right leader for a four-year run to the next World Cup. I use the word “leader” very purposely as it is strong leadership as well as a high-level coaching role that is required.

The best man should get the job, whatever nationality he is (although an Englishman would be ideal). It is not an easy job at the best of times. Ask Graham Henry, Eddie O’Sullivan, Gareth Jenkins or Bernard Laporte; all excellent men and heroes, in my mind, for having the guts to do the job, but who will be struggling to come to terms with life at the moment.

The RFU decision is made even more complex by the involvement of Rob Andrew in team affairs, a man who has never coached an international team but arguably could have been the right man to coach England now. If he had stayed as a director of rugby at Newcastle, he would have been a leading contender, even the best choice, but he chose the easy option in becoming an administrator. That will always cause issues with any head coach, especially when the pressure kicks in, which it always does.

The RFU spoke to me about the post of director of elite rugby and I never envisaged any day-to-day involvement with the senior team. To me, the role was to develop young talent and to keep totally clear of England. I would have appointed a head coach quite capable of doing the job without any interference from me or any other person. When you have been coach you realise this is an absolute prerequisite. Yet Rob has been more high-profile than Brian while England have been out in France, claiming the RFU want him to do more media. But the media want access to the main man, not an administrator.

There can be only one boss around any dressing-room and it reminds me of the difficulties that Chelsea made for themselves when they asked Avram Grant to look over José Mourinho’s shoulder. No leading coach in the world would entertain the job in those circumstances unless they wanted the job too much, which is a problem in itself.

Whoever is placed in charge of the national team does have reasons to be optimistic. The peace accord reached between the RFU and the clubs makes life much better for England, but does it go far enough?

The real beneficiaries are the clubs themselves, who can be delighted with the financial support from Twickenham they so richly deserve. I don’t doubt that the league will go from strength to strength. We have become used to seeing the best foreign players arrive towards the end of their careers but the clubs now have even more financial clout to attract them at their peak. It will make for an amazing Guinness Premiership, the best in the world. But as with football, we cannot be blind to the potential downsides.

It remains to be seen whether the deal will allow the England team to arrive at every game, including summer tours, with no excuses. If it delivers, then the past ten years of conflict, sacrifices, resignations and dismissals of so many excellent people will not have been wasted. Having put the structure in place, there are now no excuses for the hierarchy at Twickenham.

A no-compromise approach to preparation is essential in an increasingly competitive game. There is a fantastic pool of English players out there but, as I have consistently stated, every leading nation in the world has good playing resources. As a tournament, it was a hugely unpredictable World Cup but I had lunch with Eddie Jones, who coached Australia in 2003 and was assistant to Jake White, the South Africa head coach, this time around, and we found it hard to see how and where the game had technically developed over the past four years. The so-called smaller nations have been brilliant but has the actual standard of the game improved?

The buzz word has been “territory”, which basically means a kicking game and a safety-first approach. Argentina were a revelation with a game plan based almost entirely on kicking the ball but, while it worked for them, I found the caution of the leading nations a real disappointment.

Australia and France, in particular, must have departed this tournament with huge regrets about their play-it-safe strategies. I hope that it is something the IRB gives serious thought to, although the responsibility lies with the coaches and, indeed, with every union and those responsible for player development.

The England players could not be faulted for commitment. After shaking themselves down after the 36-0 drubbing, they were a real credit to England and English rugby. Reaching the final was a considerable achievement considering where the team were coming from but how on earth had England, the reigning champions, come to be ranked seventh in the first place?

I hope the lessons learnt this time are acted on, however painful. We should be producing a World Cup team in 2011 that wins the trophy back without anyone being surprised.

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